Guide bearing



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me/Wto@ Sydney J f/eeds Patented May 15, 1951 UNx'rED STATES PATENT OFFICE Sydney J. Needs, Philadelphia, Pa.,v assignor to Kingsbury Machine Works, Inca, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Delaware Application April Iv, 1947, Serial No. 7383587 4 Claims. l;

This invention relates toa guide bearing, and more especially to a. guide bearing havingy particular utility for association with a thrust bear- 1ng..

It has. heretofore. been proposed to provide a. thrust. block, or a runner attached. thereto, with. an exteriorly disposed, surrounding, radial bearing` memberl to cooperate; therewithl as, a guide; bearing. A guide. bearingv so constructed and arranged develops friction in proportion to thek rubbing. speed and. to the area of. the external peripheral surface on the, rotatingA block or runner. constituting the rotatable bearing surface of such; guide bearing.` Furthermore; as the. block or. runner, to. the extent. that. it.functions as. a guide. bearing, is confined. within the enclosure provided bythe: stationary guide bearing member,. dissipation. of heat from the block or runner.' is retarded, so. that it islikely to expand to a relatively greater extentI than the surrounding stationary giude: bearing, member which' isv air cooled` at its,` outer. face,. with a` resulting tendency to'diminish the. running clearance between the radial. bearing surfaces and even. al danger ofseizing. Suchen exterior guide bearing.: construction also interferes with ready access. to the.y thrust bearingf members,w it adds to theA overall radial dimensions of the bearing unit, and it. requires. aI heavier; more bulky and more expensive construction of the bearing housingto afford asupportforv the stationary guide bearing' member;

It is. an object. of thisfinvention to provide an improved guideA bearing wherein the guiding function: is. adequately effected' but boththe area of. the. guide. bearing surfaces and the speed of their relative movement are materially reduced so as tov decrease friction losses.

Another objectof. this invention is to provide an improved device of the type characterized which minimizes the-likelihood of a reduction in running clearance during the operation of the bearing and therefore eliminates any danger of seizing at the guide bearing surfaces.

Another object. of thisinvention is to: provide an improved device of the type characterized which facilitates access to the. thrust bearing members.

Another object of this invention is to:` provide anr improved device ofA the type characterized which enables thev overall radial' dimensions of the bearing unit to berreduced.

Another object'. of this? invention is: to provide an improved device: of thel type characterized wherein the guide bearing function. may be ade- 2 quately effected without the. increase of size, Weight. and. cost incident. to. the use of an-l ex.- ternal; guide bearing.

Another. object ofy this invention is'to provide an improved. device of. the type characterized wherein the. guide bearing surfaces are less. likely toY be injuredv during shipping; and handling.

fn'iotherv object of this invention is to. prov-ide an. improved. device.v of the typev characterized which facilitates lubricationl and cooling of the guide bearing members.

Another: object of this invention islto provide an. improved; device; of the type. characterized which. is; of. increased' simplicity and compactness. of; construction.

Other objects will appear as the description of the invention proceeds.

The; invention vis capable of receiving. a. variety of. mechanical. expressions only oney of which has beenv illustrated onthe accompanying drawing, and it is therefore to be expressly understood. that; the drawing is. for purposes of illus.- tration only,.and1is. not to. be construed as a definition' of'. the. limits of the invention, reference.` being: had. to: the appended claims for4 that purpose.l

The drawing illustrates somewhat diagrammatically a. combined thrust' and' guide bearing embodying the. present invention.

Referring: in detailI to the. accompanying; drawing; any suitable shaft Idhas mounted thereon; andlsecured thereto in any suitable way, a thrust block Hf of any appropriate construction. Secured to said thrust block H in any suitable way for rotationv therewith is arunner i2.' of any appropriate; construct-ion, the runner being shown. as` provided with dowels I3 engagingin recesses Mt in.' the under face ofthe thrust block. Cooperating with the bearing,` face l5 of said runner. are stationary thrust 'bearing members of. anyysuitable construction, here; shown asin the' form ofthe well known Kingsbury type.-y of thrust bearing including a plurality of shoes Ib provided: withV inserts Il having. spherical faces i3 on which they are mounted to tilt bothv ra.- dia'llyv and. circumferentially with respect to the bearing'and thereby formy wedge-shaped oil films between the bearing faces I9" of: said shoes and the bearingfface |51of the runner.

The shoesv I Smay'be mounted in anysuitable way; ason adjustingy screws, aV spherical equalizing ring;V a: series. of bridged equalizing blocks, etc As illustrated; .a series of .bridged equalizing blocks 20 is mountedwithin the channel-shaped chamberfZ lV of acage member 2:2alternate blocks suitable base 29 and prevented from rotation Y by dowels 3B engaging in suitable recesses-3l in the base of the cage. Cage 22 is also shown as carrying ay retaining ring 32 secured thereto in any suitable way, as by bolts 33, in surrounding relationship to the shoes-I6 so as to prevent radially outward movement thereof.

Base ring 29 has mounted thereon in closely surrounding relationship to the shaft l0, and secured thereto in any suitable way as by bolts 34, an oil retaining sleeve 35 which extends above the surface 36 of the oil in the oil well in which the thrust bearing surfaces are submerged. As so far described, the thrust bearing is a well known form of Kingsbury thrust bearing of which the details constitute no part of the present invention. Furthermore, While one particular form of thrust bearing has been illustrated and described with considerable detail it is to be expressly understood that the invention is not limited to use of this particular form or type of thrust bearing, as the invention can be applied to thrust bearings of a wide variety of constructions and types, and also to equivalent blocks independently of a thrust bearing, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

In thrust bearings of the character referred to it is 'conventional to provide an oil retaining sleeve 35 mounted on the base 29 to provide the inner periphery of the oil well in which the thrust bearing surfaces run submerged. In conformity with the present invention this oil retaining sleeve 35 is made of somewhat heavier construction than is conventional when its sole purpose is to provide the inner periphery of the oil well, so as to give it the requisite rigidity Y and-strength for supporting thestationary part of a guide bearing. Sleeve extends interiorly of the rotatable thrust bearing member, and mounted on said sleeve in any suitable way is radial guide bearing means 3l of any suitable construction, said means providing a radial guide bearing surface radially spaced from the peripheral surface of the sleeve 35 and disposed in Y radial alignment with any suitable radial guide bearing surface provided on the thrust block or the runner, here illustrated as a bearing surface 33 at the inner periphery of the runner l2. Said guide bearing surfaces are disposed below the level of the oil in the well, and radial bearing member 3l is provided with any suitable number and character of oil grooves 33, here shown as extending parallelly tothe axis of the shaft l@ and of uniform width, but for a purpose to be explained said grooves may be circumferentially inclined in either direction or said grooves may taper lengthwise. i

Above said guide bearing surfaces the thrust block Il is provided with any suitable number of passages lit extending therethrough from the inner Yoil Vspace 4l to the outer portion of the 'oil well, said passages All being disposed radially with respect to the bearing or they may be inclined with respect to the radius for a purpose to be explained. Said passages 40 which act as a centrifugal pump may be made of any desired size for controlling the oil circulation `from the inner portion il of the well to the outer portion of the well, or as shown said rate of oil circulation may be controlled by introducing into the outer threaded extremities of said passages 43 threaded plugs 42 having apertures 4d of a size selected to predetermine the oil circulation.

Oil from the underside of the bearing shoes will rise through the grooves 33 of guide bearing member 37 into the space 4| from which it will be removed through the passages d under the action of centrifugalv force, the rate of removal depending upon the number and disposition of the passages d and the size of said passages or of the outlet apertures 34. The rate of iiow of oil to the space il can be controlled by using axially disposed grooves or grooves inclined in the direction of or opposite to the direction of rotation of the shaft i0, or if the shaft is designed to rotate in both directions, the grooves may be suitably tapered. Thereby, by suitably selecting the form and direction of the oil grooves in conjunction with the number, disposition and size of the passages il or the outlets 34 therefrom, the rate at which the oil will circulate through the guide bearing and be returned'to the outer portion of the oil well canbe nicely predetermined. In any event, the sizes of the passages it or the outlets 4:1 therefrom are Vsuch that said passages 40 will not remove oil from the space lil more rapidly than it is supplied to said space li through the grooves 33 in the bearing member 3l. Thereby the inlets to said passages 43 as well as the guide bearing surfaces are always Vsubmerged in oil so that the oil does not become aerated by air drawn into the same under the centrifugal pumping action of the passages 40. c

Y Guide bearing lmember 31 is preferably tapered at its opposite edges as shown, such taper forming a guide for centering the runner as it is lowered into position. While oil grooves 3S are shown only in the member 31, the rotatable guide bearing surface may be Yprovided with comparable Y oil grooves either alone or in combination with oil grooves in the stationary bearing surface.

As the rotation of the shaft I3 normally producesa circulation of air between the shaft and the oil retaining sleeve 35, the stationary member 3l of the guide bearing is adequately cooled. As the stationary member'of the guide bearing is surrounded by the rotatable thrust bearing members which are likely to attain a higher temperature, the tendency is for the rotatable bearing members to expand away from rather than toward the ,stationary guide bearing member so that danger of diminution of the running clearance when the bearing heats up, or even seizure of the guide bearing surfaces, is substantially eliminated. Indeed, the bearing clearance may be decreased owing to the elimination of the foregoing danger. As the area of the guide bearing surface is now determined by the diameter of the inner periphery of the runner or thrust block rather than the outer diameter, the area of the guide bearing surfaces is materially reduced as is also their relative rubbing speed for any given R. P. M., with resultant diminution of friction losses and consequent heat losses that must be'taken care of by the cooling system provided for the bearing whereby the cooling system may 'be made of smaller capacity.

As.: the. guider bearing surfaces are; disposed, interiorly of the; runner,v or: thrust block they are protected; from injury during transportationor handlingwhilethez disposition of the guide, bearing: surfabes. withinthe: thrust:` blockv or runner results; inz a.` more simple, and; compact; construction. At. the same time thev omission'` of. guide bearing members.: at.. the outer periphery ofv the thrust; block or runner facilitates access to; the thrust bearing members; andthe; bearing, unit4v as a whole is off` materially reduced diameter because of the absence of the surrounding guide bearing members and the` necessary support therefor, Thus, a. substantial saving iny weight and cost is effected because the, smaller size-andweight ofthe stationary guide bearing member means thatthe requisiter supportl therefor may also bei. made lighter and lessi expensivel. rIhus the. constructionA of. the bearing unit is simplified because, fewer parts. are, required; and the. housing, of the bearing, may be` made of simplified construction inasmucb as, it. does not have to support guide bearing members.

Assembly and disassembly of the unit-nis also. facilitated by reason. of, the absence of thev exterior guide bearings. Alignment of the bearing with the associated machinery is facilitated because the bearing carried by the oil retaining sleeve can be used as a reference point for aligning associated guide bearings, and correction for misalignment can be readily effected. by shifting and doweling the parts in proper position. Furthermore, the construction disclosed enables a nice predetermination of the rate at which the lubricating oil will be circulated over the guide bearing surfaces. Thus the present invention provides a more simple, compact and efficient guide bearing.

While the embodiment of the invention illustrated on the drawing has been described with considerable particularity, it is to be expressly understood that the invention is not limited thereto, as other embodiments will now readily suggest themselves to those skilled in the art, while changes may be made in the details of construction, arrangement, proportion, size, etc., without departing from the spirit of this invention. As before noted, the invention may be associated with any other suitable form of thrust bearing, and while one form of stationary guide bearing has been shown between the thrust block or runner and the oil retaining sleeve, any other suitable form of guide bearing construction at this location may be used, as a -pivoted shoe guide bearing, a segmental type guide bearing, etc. While the inner periphery of the runner has been shown as constituting the rotatable guide bearing surface, the inner periphery of the thrust or any other suitable block may be used for this purpose if desired, and therefore when the term rotatable thrust member is used in the claims it is used as embracing either the thrust block or the runner. Also, as above pointed out, the block with which the guide bearing is associated need not be`the rotating member of a thrust bearing, as an equivalent block may be used, with or without a thrust bearing separated therefrom, within the broader aspect of the invention. Reference is therefore to be had to the claims hereto appended for a definition of the invention.

What is claimed is:

l. In a combined thrust and guide bearing, in combination with a shaft and stationary and rotatable thrust bearing members, means providi-ng:V an4 oil retaining: well. surreundingsaid thrust bearing` members; and including.; an. inner oil retaining; sleevel surrounding said. shaft and projecting. between. it; and the rotatable.- thrust member tol provide an annulary oiliretaining. space between said sleeve and rotatable thrustv bearing member, stationary guidef bearing means mounted on said sleevey and. providing: aystationzary guide. bearingy surface radiallyy spaced from the peripheral: surfacev of said. sleeve; said-i rotatable thrust' member having ay circumferential guide `bearing surface at` itsinner periphery radially;- aligned' with and havingy bearing engagement' witlrsaid stationary guidezbearing surface, said guide bearingl surfaces` beingy located below theol-l level in. said well. and spaceV and atleast one guide bearing surface being provided'. with oil. grooves. to` maintain a circulationv of.' oil through said guide bearing; from said' well into said space, and said rotatable thrust, member being provided withcentrifugal pump means for withdrawing oil' from saidspace below said: oil level'.y and delivering' the same to the oil well at a rata such as to maintain. said level in said space and said guide bearing'surfaces submerged in oil.

2. In a combined thrust and guide bearing, in combination with a shaft and stationary and rotatable thrust bearing members, means providing an oil retaining well surrounding said thrust bearing members and including an inner oil retaining sleeve surrounding said shaft and projecting between it and the rotatable thrust member to provide an annular oil retaining space between said sleeve and rotatable thrust bearing member, stationary guide bearing means mounted on said sleeve and providing a stationary guide bearing surface radially spaced from the peripheral surface of said sleeve, said rotatable thrust member having a circumferential guide bearing surface at its inner periphery radially aligned with and having bearing engagement with said stationary guide bearing surface, said guide bearing surfaces being located below the oil level in said well and space and at least one guide bearing surface being provided with oil grooves to maintain a circulation of oil through said guide bearing from said well into said space, and said rotatable thrust member being provided with passages for centrifugally withdrawing oil from said space below said oil level and delivering the same to the oil well, said passages in said rotatable thrust member being of such size as to circulate said oil at a rate no greater than it can flow through said grooves.

3. In a combined thrust and guide bearing, in combination with a shaft and stationary and rotatable thrust bearing members, means providing an oil retaining well surrounding said thrust bearing members and including an inner oil retaining sleeve surrounding said shaft and projecting between it and the rotatable thrust member to provide an annular oil retaining space between said sleeve and rotatable thrust bearing member, stationary guide bearing means mounted on said sleeve and providing a stationary guide bearing surface radially spaced from the peripheral surface of said sleeve, said rotatable thrust member having a circumferential guide bearing surface at its inner periphery radially aligned with and having bearing engagement with said stationary guide bearing surface, said guide bearing surfaces being located below the oil level in said well and space and at least one guide bearing surface being provided with oil,

grooves to maintain a'circulation of oil through said guide bearing from said well into said space, said rotatable thrust member being provided With passages for centrifugally withdrawing oil from said space below said oil level and delivering the same to the oil well, and means disposed in said passages for preventing said passages withdrawing oil from said space faster than the rate at which oil is circulated by said grooves.

4. In a combined thrust and guide bearing, in combination with a shaft and stationary and rotatable thrust bearing members, means providing an oil retaining well surrounding said thrust bearing members and including an inner oil retaining sleeve surrounding said shaft and projecting between it and the rotatable thrust member to provide an annular oil retaining space between said sleeve and rotatable thrust bearing p member, stationary guide bearing means mounted on said sleeve and providing a stationary guide bearing surface radially spacedffrom the periphwith and having bearing engagement with said 25 stationary'guide bearing surface, said guide'bearing surfaces being entirely disposed below the surface of the oil in said space, and said guide bearing means and said rotatable thrust member having cooperating means for maintaining a circulation of oil from said well between said guide bearing surfaces and into said space and for centrifugally removing from said space the oil that has passed between said guide bearing surfaceswhile maintaining the oil level in said space.

SYDNEY J. NEEDS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the iile of this patent: Y

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Y Name Date 996,457 CoiTman June 27, 1911 1,632,767 Bloom June 14, 1927 1,671,056 Williamson May 22, 1928 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date Germany July 27, 1931 

